President calls meeting tomorrow Thursday to coordinate safety response

Consell de Formentera president Alejandra Ferrer has asked island residents to intensify Covid-19- related precautions. Pointing to the discovery of 11 local cases, Ferrer asserted, “Now more than ever, we need to be extremely strict about respecting public health measures”.

New Covid infections had progressively fallen since the end of summer, with the island reporting a five-day stretch of zero cases from 2 December. But the Consell has insisted the island keep its collective guard up since the crisis began, reiterating that Formentera’s flatlining case count didn’t mean islanders were free to forget about the pandemic. “At the present moment Covid still claims hundreds of lives every day and continues its inexorable march across the planet”, said the president.

Infections have been up since 7 December, coinciding with the long weekend early in the month. “Yesterday, 15 December, we had 7 active cases”, said Ferrer, “and with the latest flare-up, we’re at 19, including one newly hospitalised individual and two freshly declared infections. So I’m issuing a special plea to the island as a whole: now is no time to relax.”

Gathering of security forces
The president has announced an emergency meeting on safety for 1.00pm tomorrow, Thursday 17 December, to coordinate control operations and inspections among security forces like Formentera Local Police, the Civil Guard and regional emergency response teams. Local police have additionally prepared a strategy to tighten controls and ensure protocol compliance at indoor spaces and public areas.

“These are unique circumstances and they run counter to how we normally function as a collective, particularly with Christmas on the horizon. But remember, more than gathering for the holidays, what’s important is that we’re all in good health for celebrations still to come. The public health situation has gotten worse since the long weekend and, if things continue, we’re not ruling out the option of urgently calling for more restrictive protocol before Christmas.”

Lastly, Ferrer voiced her hope that the islanders infected with Covid-19 —currently at home with mild symptoms or asymptomatic— recover quickly, and she asked that those individuals’ close contacts help curb further spread by respecting preventive measures and quarantine orders.

16 December 2020
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Consell de Formentera president and tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer, marketing director Carlos Bernús, department liaison Catalina Ramis and staffer Luz Márquez gathered before islanders and representatives of the local tourism industry to offer a presentation of the Barometer of Tourist Satisfaction.

2020 is the first year that the Formentera Data Observatory gauges tourist satisfaction in the form of a barometer. The endeavour entailed administering 2,438 surveys — more than three times the number performed in years past. The pandemic meant a distinctly unique backdrop for President Ferrer’s analysis of the data. In that regard, Ferrer drew attention to the fact that, during a summer as difficult as this one, overall tourist satisfaction —99.6%— was higher than any other year on record. Satisfaction was recorded at 96.2% in 2019.

Sagging visitor numbers positively impacted the satisfaction of those who came, said President Ferrer, who pointed to the sudden absence of historic complaints like noise, crowds, commercial activity and vehicles in the respondents’ comments. Visitors found prices on the island high, but said they were justified in light of the quality of service received. “This changing perspective shows us we’re on the right track”, added the president.

Tourists choose Formentera for a variety of reasons, highest among them are beaches, sensation of tranquility and natural spaces. Visitors’ average length of stay was shorter this year than last, and people preferred overnighting in private apartments than hotels. The profile of visiting tourists changed as well, no doubt a factor of the Covid crisis. Seventy-five per cent came from Spain: Catalunya first, then Madrid, the Balearics, Valencia and Andalusia. Increases were likewise seen in the number of travellers from Portugal, Switzerland, Netherlands and Belgium, with numbers from the island’s historic markets holding steady. Eighty-six per cent of visitors gave a positive evaluation concerning public health measures.

Lastly, President Ferrer made assurances that “after having studied the survey results and analysed the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities of our destination, we’ve come to the conclusion that we must continue working with our model of sustainability: restricting in-bound vehicle traffic with formentera.eco, caring for the environment, focusing on cleanliless and waste management and building visibility for cultural and heritage activities and other tourist-oriented products that give our destination added value”.

The document presented today can be viewed here.

15 December 2020
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera